Foreign minister’s attire and inflight menu for Russian media are latest in series of provocations towards Ukraine
In a not-so-subtle act of trolling, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, arrived in Alaska on the eve of the US–Russia summit wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with “USSR”.
Once seen in western capitals as a pragmatic and skilled diplomat, the 75-year-old has in recent years mirrored the Kremlin’s radicalised politics, adopting an increasingly combative tone and resorting to trolling and mockery.
Lavrov showed up in Alaska wearing a USSR sweatshirt. Very reassuring to at least 14 of Russia’s neighbors. pic.twitter.com/zwalshPWaC
Lavrov’s choice of attire nods to the Kremlin’s long-running narrative: Putin has repeatedly claimed that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people”, denying Ukraine’s legitimacy and territorial integrity while promoting a broader notion of unity with Russia.
